Social Media

But before you do, make sure you're doing it for the right reason.

Part of the power of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is that it relies on specific, one-on-one invitations to participate.

Here's the good, the bad and the real opportunity of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that has taken on a life of its own and brought in more than $100 million for the ALS Association.

The unprecedented success of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge does beg a few questions, of course. Will the ALS Association be able to retain those ice-bucket givers and convert them to regular donors? Or are they too adrenaline-motivated to go into the usual new-donor stream? How did they give? What kind of data was collected? How does an organization handle a huge and sudden spike in giving (aside from the obvious, “Why, happily, thank you very much”)? Where does the organization go from here? Can it replicate the giving surge with a campaign of its own making? (Probably not.) Or does it just thank its lucky stars and recognize this for the fluke that it was?

What made the Ice Bucket Challenge so successful? There were a few key factors of the challenge that all fell together perfectly to give it zing, appeal, momentum and energy.

Oh, and can I have a side of “how to find them” and “what to do with them”?

Never one to miss out on the fun, FundRaising Success accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge from DonorPro Nonprofit Fundraising Solutions, and yesterday, the FundRaising Success team, including sister brand Target Marketing, completed the challenge and made a donation, which you can view below.

As FundRaising Success gears up for the ninth annual Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence, take a look back at last year's Social Media Campaign of the Year from the Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation.

Learn how you can engage your supporters and keep them invested in your cause with five simple social-media tips.

In marketing, familiarity breeds credibility. That used to be a problem for direct-mail fundraisers because it was expensive to send cultivation pieces that didn’t bring in money. And then the good Lord sent us social media.